PRESS REVIEW: The Nation on Chornobyl

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster has found its way into the premier U.S. journal of the left. The April 29 issue of The Nation features an article by Harvey Wasserman, a senior adviser to Greenpeace USA, highlighting the damage inflicted by radiation on people, plants and animals residing in areas contaminated by the 1986 explosion at Reactor No. 4, and criticizing Western, Ukrainian and international officials and authorities for downplaying Chornobyl and other nuclear accidents.

"In the Dead Zone: Aftermath of the Apocalypse" relies heavily on Jay M. Gould's "Chernobyl - A Hidden Tragedy," scholarly articles from the European Journal of Cancer Prevention and New Scientist, as well as the words of both nuclear power industry personnel and anti-nuclear activists, to paint a picture of industry irresponsibility, mainstream media cover-ups and governmental wishful thinking about the safety of nuclear power generation.

Part haughty "we told-you-so" attitude about the inevitable decline of the nuclear power industry and part lambasting of the Clinton administration for its allegedly insufficient support of renewable energy sources such as wind-power generation, the conclusion of "In the Dead Zone" legitimately questions the extent to which governmental and international authorities are beholden to wishful thinking about the consequences of Chornobyl and similar nuclear accidents. All in all, the article well complements the list of texts highlighted in this issue.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 9, 1996, No. 23, Vol. LXIV

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